U.S. patent number 3,770,128 [Application Number 05/228,525] was granted by the patent office on 1973-11-06 for device for treating aquarium water.
Invention is credited to Mark D. Kast.
United States Patent |
3,770,128 |
Kast |
November 6, 1973 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
DEVICE FOR TREATING AQUARIUM WATER
Abstract
A device for inserting in an aquarium for the treatment of the
water in the aquarium including filtration of the water,
circulation of the water and aeration of the water as well as the
selective supply of treatment materials to the water. A plurality
of individual screen elements are arranged in vertical alignment
and progressively decrease in mesh size in the upper direction and
a fluid jet is directed upwardly toward the bottom of the lowermost
screen element. The fluid jet, which may be air, flows upwardly
through the screen elements and induces flow of aquarium water
upwardly through the screen element whereby particulate material in
the aquarium water will be filtered out and deposit on the bottoms
of the screen elements. The water in the aquarium has free access
to the underside of all of the screen elements and particles in the
aquarium water, if small enough to pass through a lower, larger
mesh screen element will be filtered out from the water in an
upper, finer mesh screen element. The device according to the
present invention is preferably in the form of a single unit which
can be placed in submerged location in an aquarium, preferably
centrally of a longer wall thereof and effects continuous cleaning
and circulation of the aquarium water. The individual screen
elements are advantageously contained within individual housing
members and a screened cap is provided for one of the housing
members so that it can be mounted on one end thereof and charcoal
or a treatment medium, such as a soluble chemical material, can be
placed between the screened cap and the screen element in the
respective housing and thereby effect treatment of the aquarium
water as flow thereof is induced through the respective screen
element.
Inventors: |
Kast; Mark D. (Ft. Wayne,
IN) |
Family
ID: |
22857537 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/228,525 |
Filed: |
February 23, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
210/167.26;
210/220 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A01K
63/045 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A01K
63/04 (20060101); E04h 003/20 () |
Field of
Search: |
;210/65,68,73,169,220 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Zaharna; Samih N.
Assistant Examiner: Cintins; Ivars
Claims
1. In a device for use in a treatment of water in an aquarium
comprising, in combination, a number of laterally extending screen
elements in vertically spaced close relationship to each other,
said screen elements being progressively finer mesh in the upward
direction, conduit means for transferring fluid to cause aquarium
water to flow upwardly through said screen elements, said conduit
means including an outlet disposed beneath said screen elements for
dicharging fluid upwardly to provide vertical flow through the
screen elements with simultaneous flow of aquarium water upwardly
through the screen elements, and housing means carried by said
conduit means means for maintaining the screen elements in vertical
alignment with respect to each other so that the flow of fluid will
pass through each screen element.
2. A device according to claim 1 in which said housing means
comprises a respective housing member for each screen element, said
housing members being disposed in vertically spaced aligned
relation and each supportingly engaging the periphery of a
respective screen element.
3. A device according to claim 1 in which said housing means
comprises a respective housing member for each screen element, said
housing members being disposed in vertically spaced aligned
relation and each supportingly engaging the periphery of a
respective screen element, said conduit means comprising a
substantially rigid tube extending axially along said housing
members and connected in supporting relation thereto to form a unit
therewith.
4. A device according to claim 1 which includes suction cup means
carried by said conduit means for connection of the device to an
inside wall of an equarium.
5. A device according to claim 1 in which each said screen element
is concave in the downward direction.
6. A device according to claim 1 in which each said screen element
is concave in the downward direction, said conduit means extending
vertically downwardly along said support means and having the lower
end bent upwardly beneath the lowermost one of said screen elements
and the upper end of said conduit means being adapted for
connection to a supply of air under pressure.
7. A device according to claim 1 in which said housing means
comprises a respective housing member for each screen element, said
housing members being disposed in vertically spaced aligned
relation and each supportingly engaging the periphery of a
respective screen element, each screen element having the periphery
thereof connected to the respective housing member about midway
between the top and bottom of the housing member, and a screened
cap adapted for mounting on one end of at least one said housing
member for confining water treatment material in the respective
housing member between the screen element therein and the screened
cap.
Description
The present invention relates to a device for the treatment of
aquarium water and is particularly concerned with a novel
arrangement of this nature which will effect circulation and
filtration of the aquarium water and by means of which the aquarium
water can be aerated and treatment material supplied thereto.
Aquarium, particularly of the smaller type, which are commonly
found in residences, must be kept clean and in balance with respect
to the water in the aquarium in order to provide healthful
conditions for the fish. The cleaning of the aquarium water, and
the aeration thereof, is particularly important to prevent solid
fish waste and material, such as uncomsumed food particles, from
causing the aquarium water to become foul. It is also extremely
important to maintain oxygen in the water, particularly if the
aquarium is not provided with sufficient living plants to maintain
an oxygen supply to the aquarium water.
The many filtration and aeration devices known for use with
aquariums generally take the form of a container in which activated
charcoal and a fibrous filtration medium, such as glass wool, or
the like, is placed with a circulating arrangement being provided
for drawing water off from the aquarium and passing it through the
filtering medium and the activated charcoal. Such devices may or
may not supply air to the water in the aquarium. If no air is
supplied to the water, then the aquarium must have an adequate
amount of living plants therein or some other source of air must be
provided in order to oxygenate the air in an amount sufficient to
produce the proper environment for the fish in the aquarium.
Filters of the above referred to type are effective for filtration
of water but must be cleaned frequently and the cleaning of the
filter of this type is a rather messy job. Further, such a filter
must be recharged with more activated charcoal and filtering medium
after it is cleaned.
With the foregoing in mind, a primary objective of the present
invention is the provision of an improved device for use with
aquariums of the nature referred to for treatment of the water in
the aquarium to maintain the water in good condition to provide a
satisfactory environment for the fish in the aquarium.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of a
device for the treatment of aquarium water which does not employ
charcoal or a filtering medium, such as glass wool or the like.
Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a
device for the treatment of water in the aquarium which is
relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a
simple device for the treatment of water in the aquarium which is
highly efficient in operation.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, a plurality of screen elements
are arranged in spaced vertical relation in a submerged location
within an aquarium with the water in the aquarium having free
access to the undersides of the screen elements. A conduit is
arranged to discharge in the upward direction beneath the lowermost
one of the screen elements so that a jet of fluid issuing from the
conduit will pass upwardly through the screen elements, thereby
inducing flow of the aquarium water upwardly through the screen
elements and, in this manner, filtering particulate material out
from the aquarium water. The screen elements progressively decrease
in mesh in the upward direction so that larger particles are
entrapped in the lower screen elements and particles fine enough to
pass through the lower and coarser mesh screen elements will be
entrapped in the upper finer mesh screen elements.
The fluid supplied by the conduit may be water under pressure but
is advantageously air so that the aquarium water is aerated and is
also induced to flow through the screen element, thereby to be
filtered and caused to circulate within the aquarium.
The individual screen elements are preferably concave downwardly
and are mounted in individual housing elements with the housing
elements advantageously being attached to a vertically extending
tube through which the fluid is supplied to the underneath side of
the lowermost element. The device is adapted to be disposed within
an aquarium in a vertical position and may carry one or more
suction cups so that it can be mounted on the inside of a wall of
aquarium.
Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a
device for the treatment of water in the aquarium which is quite
simple to clean at any time.
The objects referred to above, as well as still other objects and
advantages, of the present invention will become more apparent upon
reference to the following detailed specification taken in
connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the manner in which a device
of the present invention is mounted in a typical aquarium.
FIG. 2 is a somewhat perspective view drawn at a somewhat enlarged
scale, showing the device of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view through the device and is
indicated by line 3--3 on FIG. 2.
FIGS. 4a, 4b, 4c and 4d are plan sectional views indicated by lines
4a, 4b, 4c and 4d on FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view through a portion of the device, showing
the manner in which treatment material, such as soluble capsules
can be contained within the device for treating the aquarium
water.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to the drawings somwhat more in detail, an aquarium of a
typical type is generally indicated at 10. The aquarium contains
water 12 and mounted in vertically disposed relation in submerged
condition in the water 12 is device 14, according to the present
invention. Device 14 in FIG. 1 is supplied with fluid under
pressure by component 16, which may be a pump for circulating water
to the device, or which may be, advantageously, a typical aquarium
air pump.
As will best be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the device comprises a
substantially rigid conduit or tube 18, extending downwardly along
the device and having the lower end thereof turned up as at 20 and
having an outlet opening 22 from which a jet of fluid, preferably
air, is supplied. Arranged in spaced relation along conduit 18 are
cylindrical housing members 24, which may be, for example, about an
inch and a quarter inside diameter and somewhat on the order of
about an inch in length. These housing members may be formed of a
water resistant plastic material or a metal material, such as
stainless steel.
Mounted in each housing member is a respective screen element. In
FIG. 3, the screen elements are indicated at 26, 28, 30 and 32.
These screen elements are concave downwardly, as by being conical
or domed, and decrease in mesh size in the upward direction so that
the lowermost screen element 26 has the largest holes therein and
the uppermost screen element 32 has the smallest holes therein. The
screen elements are engaged about the peripheries thereof by the
housing members 24 so that fluid flowing upwardly through the
device must pass through the respective screen elements.
When air is supplied, the air will be broken up by the screen
elements but will move in the vertical direction and after leaving
one screen element will be captured by the next and pass
therethrough in the upward direction, as indicated by arrows 34 in
FIG. 3. This upward movement of the fluid through the screen
elements induces the flow of aquarium water upwardly through the
screen elements as indicated by arrows 36 in FIG. 3. It will at
once be apparent that upward movement of air through the device
from beneath the lowermost one of the screen elements to the
surface of the water in the aquarium will bring about circulation
of the aquarium water and will aerate the water and will
furthermore cause particulate material in the aquarium water to
deposit out on the undersides of the screen elements.
The device can have a base member thereon to support it on the
floor of the aquarium but advantageously has one or more suction
cup members 38 which may be mounted on tube or conduit 18 and
provide the means for mounting the device inside of an aquarium
wall. Advantageously, the device is mounted in about the middle of
one of the walls of the aquarium, as shown in FIG. 1, so as to
obtain the most beneficial circulation and seration of the water in
the aquarium.
The reduction in mesh size from the bottom screen element to the
top screen element is schematically illustrated in FIGS. 4a, 4b, 4c
and 4d, which are views looking down on top of the respective
screen elements, starting with the uppermost one thereof.
The screen elements are mounted in their respective housing members
so that the peripheries of the screen elements are located at about
the axial center of the respective housing members and because of
this it is possible to utilize at least one of the housing members
in a manner illustrated in FIG. 5. In FIG. 5, a cap 40 is provided,
which may consist of an inner ring 42 and outer ring 44 and a
concave screen member 46 having the periphery thereof captive
between the rings and extending over the open end of the cap.
The described arrangement of cap 40 permits it to be telescopically
mounted on one end of one of the housing members 24, for example,
the lowermost one thereof so as to provide a space 48 therein in
which treatment material, such as the capsules 50, can be placed
for dissolving in the aquarium water passing upwardly through the
housing member. The space 48 could, of course, contain activated
charcoal or a filter medium or the like but, in general, the space
will find its greatest utility for receiving capsules which will
slowly dissolve in the aquarium water and thereby supply a
treatment agent thereto.
In practice, only a small amount of air pressure need be supplied
to tube or conduit 18 and, as explained, this will not only provide
for aeration of the aquarium water but the circulation of the
aquarium water through the screen elements. The air may accummulate
to a certain degree underneath at least the finer mesh screen
elements, but when adequate pressure is built up the air will pass
through the respective screen elements on upwardly toward the
surface of the water.
The device can readily be cleaned at any time by merely lifting it
from the aquarium and washing the screen elements off with a flow
of water from above.
The device is quite compact and does not interfere with the
movement of the fish, or with the growth of plants in the aquarium
and no material, such as glass fibers or carbon is required for the
device to be fully operative for its intended purpose.
Fish do not become caught in the filter because the construction of
the filter prevents this from occurring.
The present device, according to the invention, is quite
inexpensive to construct and will operate efficiently even with a
small air pump supplying air to the space beneath the lowermost one
of the screen elements.
It will be appreciated that modifications may be made without
department from the purview of the present invention. For example,
the housing members 24 could be combined in a single unit with
access holes in the side to permit water from the aquarium to enter
the space between the screens, or the supporting housing members 24
could merely be in the form of wire loops engaging the downwardly
concave screen elements at the peripheries thereof and secured in
some simple manner to the conduit or tube 18.
Modifications within the purview of the appended claims would occur
to those skilled in the art. What is claimed is:
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